Broken Stars
by Imagination-LastWayOut1
Summary: Getting hurt during an accident in her childhood, Anne has been suffering from a severe illness. WD and his sister decided to keep Anne's illness a secret to everyone as they worried she would not be allowed to perform if the knew. Now everyone is going to find out. What will happen? Rating to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Anne and WD had been rehearsing their new routine for the past two hours, twirling elegantly through the air. The show tomorrow was supposed to be the first time this particular routine was going to be shown and everyone was in awe at the new stunts the two aerials had come up with. WD gripped Anne's hands for one last swing, and both of them twirled to the floor in a perfect back flip. As soon as Anne's feet touched the ground, she slightly stumbled to the side, catching herself at the last moment. Nobody else had notices the slight misstep, but WD pulled his eyebrows into his distinctive frown that he reserved for the times he was worried about his sister. He quickly made his way over to Anne, who was now smiling and deeply involved in a conversation with Lettie.  
"Anne, let's practice that landing again. You stumbled. I don't want you to miss the steps tomorrow and fall."  
His sister sighed deeply "I didn't stumble, WD. The ground was just uneven. It won't happen again. Come on… we have been practising for the past two hours. We should take a break. You'll see, we'll be fine tomorrow." With that she gave her brother a look that dared him to disagree and started walking away.

"Fine! We'll have a break. But we will run through it a last time this afternoon!" he yelled after her.  
Anne shrugged her shoulders and gave her brother a teasing smile over her shoulder, walking out of the ring. WD sighed… his sister was just too stubborn sometimes. Though, he had to admit that he was looking forward to taking a break and watch the other performers practise their routines. While watching his friends perform, he had a nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong that day. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. His mind was racing to find anything that had been different that day. The only thing he could think of was that Anne had looked a bit tired, but that wasn't all too unusual with their packed schedule. He would just have to keep an extra eye out for anything unusual and hope that everything would be ok.

Anne walked towards the dressing rooms, running a hand over her face. She had woken up particularly tired that morning and had a slight headache that was not feeling like anything serious, but was yet very annoyingly at the back of her mind. She had been fine during practise but was feeling exhausted now that her body had slowed down. The young woman was longing for a relaxing bath and an early night but, seeing that it was only 11 o'clock in the morning and WD wanted to do another practise run in the afternoon, settled for splashing some water onto her face and catching some fresh air before lunch. 'I'm fine… I'll rest as soon as we finish practise this afternoon' she told herself, walking past the animal tents.

She hoped that the headache was going to go away very soon, and was not going to escalate into anything more serious. She had not yet told any of her friends about her health problems that had started after an accident when she was a child. She had only known everyone for about a year and it had just not come up yet. WD knew, but none of the siblings had found the opportunity to raise the topic with Barnum, Philip or any of their friends. They had talked about it and both decided to leave the rest of their family in the unknown a little longer, worrying that if they did tell everyone the truth Barnum would not let Anne perform anymore.

Is Anne sick? What will happen? Next chapter will be up soon. To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The group was sitting together for lunch, everyone chatting away after their morning rehearsals. Anne had joined everyone after her little walk, feeling a bit more refreshed. Her headache was still there, but it was only barely nagging in the background of her thoughts. She sat down next to her brother, reaching for half of his sandwich. WD gave a little chuckle and pushed the plate closer towards her. He was used to sharing his food with his sister every now and again, when she was too lazy to get up to make her own. She would get up eventually to make another sandwich and their roles would reverse, WD stealing the other half of hers then. This time however, he noticed how Anne was just nibbling on her half of the sandwich, before sitting it down on the plate again. He raised his eyebrows and threw Anne a questioning look, but was waved off with a little shake of Anne's head, telling him to let it go. He was getting worried about Anne. She had seemed a bit off at practise this morning and her diminished appetite only raised his suspicion that something was wrong with his sister. The others were all absorbed in animated conversations, so WD leaned in closer to the young woman and whispered in her ear "Are you alright? You seem unwell".  
Anne leaned against her brother and closed her eyes briefly, breathing in his familiar smell. She would be forever grateful for having such a protective brother.  
"I'm alright. Just a little headache. Nothing to worry about" Anne gave WD a slight smile and sat upright again, turning her head towards the others and joining in their conversation. WD frowned slightly, worried about her words, but picked up Anne's discarded sandwich half and continued eating it without questioning her any further. From the end of the table, Philip had watched the little encounter and made a mental reminder to ask Anne later that night if everything was ok.

It has been a few hours since lunch and the troupe had finished practising all their routines. Lettie was the last one to leave the ring and passed WD and Anne when they walked in.  
"Hey you two. Practising again? I thought you guys did all your practising this morning. You were great." Lettie smiled at her friends.

"Thanks Lettie. WD just thought we should go through it one last time. You know how he is…" Anne gave a slight smile, which was quickly replaced by a fatigued frown. She stumbled a little bit and lifted her hand up to her head and wiped over her brow.  
Lettie looked at Anne concerned and steadied her slightly "Are you alright girl? You look a bit pale. Do you need to sit down?" WD turned to look at his sister. He quickly was in front of her and lifted her head with his finger. "Anne? Are you ok? What's wrong?" Anne shook herself from Lettie's grip and stepped back from the two.  
"I'm alright. Just got dizzy for a little second. I didn't have much for lunch and I just had this headache all morning. It's nothing. I'll just have a drink of water and have an early night tonight. But you are right, WD, we have to do this one more time to make sure it's perfect. I'll make sure I'll rest after" Anne smiled at the two concerned faces looking at her.  
Lettie gave her a last worried look and turned to leave the tent.  
WD, however, did not let her go that easily "Are you sure, Anne? It's not… you know…"  
"No! No… it's just a headache. It will be fine…!" Anne gave him a reassuring smile.  
Her brother wasn't convinced and made sure she knew "Are you sure? Because if it isn't you know what will happen. We shouldn't be up there if there is any doubt at all."  
But Anne shook her head. "I promise, if I feel like something is wrong I'll let you know. And we will stop as soon as I need a break. I promise. Just… don't make this bigger than it is. Don't make a fuss, please." Her eyes started watering and she quickly wiped a tear away.  
WD gave her a quick hug, and even though he knew the signs, he wanted to give his little sister the benefit of the doubt. So he walked over to the ropes and swung himself into the air, waiting for the music to start and Anne to throw herself just into reach for him to catch her.  
The practise went well and the two siblings were flying through the air in rhythm to the music. There was only about five more minutes of their routine when Anne's head suddenly started to hurt very badly and her vision gave out a bit. She felt dizzy and wrapped her hands around the rope tighter to not lose her grip. She swung back to the platform and dropped heavily onto the little square, steading herself against the pole. In an instant, WD landed next to her and held her face in between his hands.  
"Anne? It's happening, isn't it? Hang on… we'll get down and I'll let Carlyle know that we won't be able to do the show tonight and that we'll need a few days off. Here, hold on to me and I'll get us down." WD rushed out. Anne nodded slightly and held on tightly to her brother, who slipped down the rope and landed safely on the floor. WD looked his sister in the eyes, finding them slightly unfocused. "Annie, will you be ok for a little while? I'll just pop up into Barnum's office and see if Carlyle is in there. I will be back in a few minutes, ok?" Anne straightened herself, gave a slight nod and smiled at her brother. "It's ok. I'll be fine. It probably really is just because I didn't have lunch and the headache. I'm feeling a bit better now that we are back on the ground. I probably just overdid it a bit."  
WD gave his little sister a last look and quickly made his way out of the ring and up to the office.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Note: I have no idea about seizures or epilepsy or anything like this. So if this is not accurate, my apologies.

Chapter 3

Philip was finishing off some paperwork before the show that night and was sitting behind the heavy desk. He had watched the beginning of WD's and Anne's practise and was excited to be able to introduce the two and their new act to the audience tonight. A curt knock at the door startled him and before he could call the person in, the door was thrown open. Philip looked up from his paperwork and raised his eyebrows in confusion. "WD, is everything alright?" he asked the older man.  
WD stood in front of the desk, wringing his hands. "Anne and I will need a few days off. And we won't be able to do the show tonight either." He stepped over to the window and looked out to the ring beneath them, watching Anne tidy up the arena after their practise. Philip quickly got up and followed him over. The two watched Anne for a few seconds before Philip turned to the other man "Why? What is wrong? You guys have been practising so hard for the new act. It is supposed to be the first time you perform it in front of the audience tonight."  
WD shrugged his shoulders "Anne is not feeling right. I would like her to sit out for a few days and regain her strength."  
Philip nodded slightly "I have noticed at lunch that she seemed off. She hardly ate. What's wrong with her?"  
WD sighed and started "It's a long story…" Suddenly the two men saw as Anne swayed on her feet, her hand pressed against her forehead. As if in slow motion, the girl fell to the floor, shaking violently.  
WD swore and turned, running out of the office with Philip right on his heels, starting to count out loud. "One Mississippi, Two Mississippi…" Within moments the two made it across the ring to the girl. WD dropped next to his little sister and rolled her convulsing body to the side. He faintly heard Philip yell questions at him but ignored the man, continuing counting throughout Anne's seizure. On the fifth count, Anne's body finally relaxed and WD held the exhausted girl tightly in his arms. He whispered reassuring words into his sister's ear while she came around  
"It's ok Annie, I've got you. You are alright. You are going to be just fine. Just… hang on." With those words, WD lifted the groggy woman into his arms, quickly walking out of the tent.  
He was glad only Carlyle had witnessed what happened, the man following him out. The three reached Anne's room without anyone else noticing (everyone else was getting ready for the show) and WD waited while Philip opened the door for him to walk in. The man carefully laid Anne on the bed, his fingers smoothing back a few stray strands of curly hair on his sister's face before kneeling down next to the disoriented girl. "Go to sleep, Anne. You are fine now. Nobody saw. You'll be alright. Just relax and get better." Anne slowly turned her head towards WD and a single tear slid down the exhausted girl's face. The two men were barely able to hear the whisper leaving the woman's lips "I'm so sorry WD. I'm sorry…" but WD shushed his sister instantly.  
"It's ok… shhhh… it's not your fault. Just sleep. Everything is ok." He continued smoothing her hair back until he was sure Anne had fallen asleep, before getting up and walking over to Philip.  
Philip was still looking at Anne with a concerned frown and turned to WD "Is she ok? What was that? Should I call a doctor?"  
But WD just shook his head "There is nothing the doctor can do. It just happens sometimes, usually when she is particularly stressed. All you can do is wait till it's over and count how long the seizure is going. It gives you a little heads up on how the next days are going to be. If it lasts under 3 seconds, she is usually a bit tired but otherwise fine within the next half hour. If it lasts between 3-7 counts, it's still ok. Today's was around five seconds. She'll be out of it for the rest of the day, disorientated and weak for a little while and probably won't remember anything that happened the last couple of hours before the seizure. If it lasts any longer than 7 it's a whole different story. She's usually out for a few days and has no recollection of what happened the day or two before the episode. Sometimes she gets small follow-up seizure. If that is the case you'd have had to make do without us for a good week and a half before she was up and running again. But it wasn't as bad today. She'll hopefully be up by tonight and back on the trapeze by tomorrow or the next day. Don't worry, she's had worse before."  
Philip gave the older man a shocked look "Since when does she have seizures? And why in the world wouldn't you guys tell us about it. At least Barnum and I should have known! She could have had an episode while she was up on the ropes! What then? She could have fallen." He exclaimed.  
WD looked him straight in the eyes "That is exactly why we didn't tell you. She was worried you wouldn't let her perform on the ropes in fear that this could happen to her. It has never happened on the rope before. Often there are signs that this is going to happen. Sometimes she gets headaches, feels sluggish and dizzy for a little bit. Same as today… as soon as I think that is something more than just a headache or her feeling a bit under the weather, I pull her out. She knows not to go up if she doesn't feel up to it. And if it does happen while she is up there, I'd be there. She is never alone. But flying is all she knows. It's her world. You can't take that away from her."  
Philip nodded his agreement "Of course… I don't think anyone has the power to take that away from her. She is pretty stubborn." Philip smiled affectionately "But at least Barnum and I would have known what signs to look for. It's easier to keep an eye on her when we are all on the same page. I just don't want anything to happen to her, as I'm sure you don't either. You and Anne are family, and we will always make sure that you two are save. Since when does Anne have had seizures?"  
WD considered his words "Maybe it's time we do tell the troupe. Then at least she doesn't have to hide it. She's had them since she was four. Mother had been working as a help for one of the rich white men in town and we were playing on the apple trees while mother was working. The owner of the trees come by and saw us climbing up. He yelled at us to get down because he was worried we would eat all his precious apples. He startled Anne and she fell out of the tree, hitting her head on a rock on the ground. She was in the hospital for days and ever since she's had them.  
They are often hardly noticeable. She actually had quite a few already since we joined you guys. They are often so small, it just looks like Anne zones out for a few seconds. I know what to look for, but everyone else would have just thought that she was tired and staring into space. She comes back from those episodes within a few seconds and everything is back to normal. It's just once in a while that they get as bad as today's. Like I said… it usually happens if she is particularly stressed. Probably because of the new routine. We didn't tell any of you guys because we were worried that we couldn't perform with you anymore and that you wouldn't let her up onto the ropes at all."  
Philip looked over to the sleeping woman "No, but we would have just all kept an eye on her. We could have noticed things earlier and maybe even prevented episodes like today from happening. But now that you told us, I think it would be best if we let the whole troupe in on it. Nobody is going to treat Anne differently. Like I said… you and your sister are part of our family. We are just worried about her."  
WD nodded a thanks to the other man and gave Philip a slight clap on the shoulder. "Anne and I will tell them as soon as she feels up to it. I'll stay with her tonight to make sure she is ok. You better get going… the show is about to start." With that, WD walked back over to his sister's side and drew the chair that stood in front of the dressing table close to the bed. When he looked back to the door, he noticed that Philip had already left.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Anne shifted slightly in her bed and slowly opened her eyes. She looked over and saw WD sleeping in a chair next to her bed. 'What happened? Weren't we rehearsing the new routine?' thought Anne. She shifted a little more, reaching out for her brother's hand that was hanging down his side. As soon as she made contact, WD startled awake. He looked around for a second, before his eyes landed on his sister's eyes.  
"Anne, you are awake. How are you feeling?" He quickly sat up straight in the chair, leaning in closer to his sister.  
Anne shrugged slightly "I'm ok. A bit confused. What happened?" Then suddenly recognition formed on her face and turned her head into her pillow.  
"Nooooo, damn it! Did anyone see? How bad was it?"  
WD squeezed her hand tightly "No one besides Carlyle saw. It wasn't too bad. About five seconds. You were out for a couple of hours. The show has just finished I think. You can hear the crowd cheering. I've told him about your condition and he thinks it's time we tell the troupe. Carlyle was a bit upset we didn't tell him before. He didn't even mention pulling you from the show. Just that he wanted you save. I think they all really care about us, Annie. I think it's ok to tell them all. Then we can all look after you if needed and might notice the signs a bit earlier next time."  
A single tear dripped down Anne's face "I just don't want them to treat me any different."  
WD chuckled sadly "I don't think you have to worry about that. They know how horrible it is to be treated differently because of something you can't help. We'll tell them when you are ready but I really think that everything is going to be ok."  
WD leaned over and wrapped his arms around his sister, drawing her tightly into a hug.  
Anne nodded softly into his chest "We will tell them when everything settled down after the show"

Once all the audience had left the tent, the troupe grouped around Philip, bombarding him with questions about Anne's and WD's whereabouts  
"Where are Anne and WD? I thought they were going to do that new routine today. Did something go wrong at their last practise? Did one of them get hurt?" The questions were coming from all sides and Philip raised his hands, signalling for silence.  
"Anne wasn't feeling very well after their last practise so the two thought it was better to sit out for today. I haven't checked on her yet but WD was with her. How about you guys all get changed out of your costumes and we meet back here after. I'll see how she is feeling and get you an update."  
Everyone mumbled their agreement and filed out of the circus tent, quickly making their way to their rooms to get changed. Everyone was worried about the siblings and wanted to know what was going on.

Philip made his way to Anne's room and could hear quiet talking inside.  
He knocked on the door and entered after a moment. To his relief, Anne was sitting up in bed, talking to her brother quietly. The pair turned towards him when they heard the knock and Anne smiled shyly at Philip.  
The man gave a warm smile back and walked slowly over to the bed.  
"Anne, I'm glad to see you up. You gave us a bit of a fright earlier. How are you feeling?"  
Anne sighed sadly "I'm feeling much better, thank you. I'm so sorry that we couldn't be there for the show. How did it go? Really, I'm so sorry. I should have seen this coming much earlier."  
But Philip cut her off quickly "No need to worry. The show was fine. Everyone is just worried about you though when you guys didn't perform. WD has told me about your condition. You really don't have to worry at all. You guys are part of this circus, of this family, and will be as long as you want to be. We would have never cast you out because of this. But now that I know, and hopefully you'll be able to tell the rest as well, we will be able to help if this every happens again. We'll know what to look out for. We were terrible worried. We were terribly worried about you. I'm glad you are feeling better."  
The woman smiled thankfully at Philip and slipped her legs out of bed "WD and I have decided that it is time everyone knows. It will take a lot of pressure of my brother if he isn't the only one that knows what is going on. Is everyone getting together to celebrate after the show? We were going to go over and just let them know about everything." WD nodded in agreement.  
Philip shook his head "They were all worried about you so they sent me to get an update. They are all meeting in the ring after they get changed so that I can tell them how you are feeling. You should come if you are feeling up for it. I'm sure they'd be happy to see you"  
Anne stood up slowly, still feeling a bit weak, and together they all made their way to the circus tent where voices could be heard.

As soon as Anne walked in, everyone turned and quickly surrounded the girl. WD pushed their way through his friends and led Anne to the bleachers to sit down.  
It was heart-warming how concerned all their friends were and Anne told everyone that night about her health condition. Everyone was very understanding and WD and Anne never thought that they would be part of such a great family, that would support them through anything.  
They truly had found home…

The end...


End file.
